Second woman charged with assault in Walmart chemical fight

Luke Broadwater, The Baltimore Sun

A second woman has been charged in the bleach and Pine-Sol fight that temporarily shut down a Baltimore County Walmart in the fall.

A Baltimore County grand jury has indicted Ebony Odoms, 27, of Reisterstown, on charges of first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and destruction of property in connection with the Oct. 8 fight. The chemical fumes from the incident caused 19 people to be taken to area hospitals. Odoms is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday.

"Whatever she did was only in self-defense," said her attorney Stephen R. Tully.

Meanwhile, the first woman charged in the fight, Theresa Monique Jefferson, 33, of Lansdowne, was arrested a second time over the holidays and charged with violating a restraining order taken out by her former boyfriend, Calvin Pannell, court documents show. She has been held without bail at the Baltimore County Detention Center since Dec. 28, records show.

Jefferson's attorney, Eugene I. Glazer, also says his client acted in self-defense and says Odoms sprayed her with pepper spray during the fight.

The new arrest forced prosecutors to postpone an arraignment for Jefferson on charges stemming from the incident, including assault, which had been scheduled for Tuesday. A new date has not yet been scheduled.

According to charging documents, Pannell and Odoms, who are engaged, were getting an oil change on Oct. 8 at the Walmart and decided to shop in the store when they saw Jefferson. The couple told police that they had already been granted a restraining order against Jefferson, but she had not yet been served with it.

"They explained that the defendant is very jealous that Mr. Pannell has moved on and is marrying Ms. Odoms," charging documents state. Odoms told officers that Jefferson has threatened her in the past, and she believes Jefferson is responsible for pouring acid on her car, though police say there is no record of that incident.

Once Jefferson spotted the pair, she began walking toward them and yelling obscenities, according to the couple's account. She then struck Odoms in the face and the two began to fight. After knocking Odoms to the ground, Jefferson grabbed a bottle of bleach and dumped the bottle on Odoms, they claim.

A store manager, Abraham Joe Kannamkunnel, attempted to break up the fight, according to police. He said he watched Jefferson open a bottle of Pine-Sol and throw it on Odoms.

A customer who called 911 described the altercation as "two ladies flipping out on each other," according to a recording of the call released by the county.

"There's a fight in the middle of Walmart," the caller said. "They're using chemicals to throw at each other."

Tully said the evidence at trial will show that Jefferson was "the moving party toward my clients" and she had been stalking them. But Glazer said his client was the victim and said even Pannell's parents support Jefferson in the matter.

"His family is on her side," he said.

Pannell's father, Fred Culp, has spoken out in favor of Jefferson and blamed his son for harassing her.

"He's my son, but when he's wrong, he's wrong," he said outside the courtroom in October. "He's been messing with that girl. … She's a real nice girl. She doesn't deserve to be treated like this."